COVID-19 New Cases Near 5,000 in Japan... Emergency Declaration Expected Tomorrow

Record High New Cases and Deaths... "Most Severe Level 4"
Minimizing Economic Impact - Focusing on Reducing Spread in Restaurants

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] As the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation worsens in Japan, the number of new daily confirmed cases has approached 5,000. The Japanese government plans to announce a state of emergency, its last card, on the 7th, but it is uncertain whether it will be effective given the rapid spread.

According to NHK and other sources on the 6th, the previous day saw 4,915 new COVID-19 cases and 76 deaths in Japan, both setting new records. The previous highest records were 4,520 new cases in one day (on the 31st of last month) and 64 deaths in one day (on the 25th of last month). As a result, the cumulative number of confirmed cases and deaths up to the previous day were 254,152 and 3,769, respectively.

In Japan, COVID-19 is spreading mainly in major cities such as Tokyo and Osaka. The Japanese government's COVID-19 task force announced the day before that the spread of COVID-19 in the metropolitan area corresponds to the most severe level, level 4, among four stages. Shigeru Omi, chairman of the task force, stated that even if a state of emergency is declared, it would be difficult to reduce the situation to level 3 within a month, emphasizing the need for active measures to prevent further spread.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is scheduled to declare a COVID-19 state of emergency on the 7th. This will be the second state of emergency following the one issued from April to May last year. The current state of emergency is expected to be issued for about a month targeting four metropolitan prefectures: Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, and Chiba. Foreign media in Japan reported that while measures will be taken to minimize the economic impact, the focus will be on reducing the spread in restaurants.

The Japanese government is considering revising the enforcement ordinance of the "Special Measures Act on Influenza, etc." to add restaurants to the facilities subject to usage restrictions requested by prefectural governors under the state of emergency, in order to ensure effectiveness. NHK reported that the government is also reviewing expanding financial support for restaurants that comply with requests to shorten business hours. If this ordinance is revised, the names of restaurants that do not comply with governors' requests can be publicly disclosed.

However, unlike the first state of emergency last year, this time there will be no nationwide school closures. For elementary, middle, and high schools, closures will be implemented depending on the situation, while universities will appropriately utilize both in-person and online classes. The common university entrance exam scheduled to begin on the 16th of this month will proceed as planned.

It remains unclear how much this type of state of emergency declaration will help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Chairman Omi commented, "There is no guarantee that the state of emergency declaration will weaken the infection momentum. It is unrealistic to expect results within one to two weeks. If necessary, stronger measures may be taken."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.